List of first women lawyers and judges in South Carolina

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in South Carolina. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to obtain a law degree or become a political figure.

Firsts in state history

Sherri Lydon: First female U.S. Attorney in South Carolina (2018)

Law Degree

• Claudia J. Sullivan (1918):[1] First female law graduate in South Carolina

Lawyers

• James M. Perry (1918):[2] First female lawyer in South Carolina
• Cassandra E. Maxwell (1938):[3] First African American female lawyer in South Carolina
• Sue Evelyn Lester:[4] First female lawyer to practice in the federal court

Judges

• Kitty Herbert:[5] First female magistrate in South Carolina (1979)
• Judy Bridges:[6][7] First female judge in South Carolina (1983)

Supreme Court

• Jean H. Toal:[8] First female elected as a Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court (1988) and serve as its Chief Justice (2000)

District Court

• Jean Galloway Bissell:[8] First female to serve as a federal judge in South Carolina (1984)
• Margaret B. Seymour (1977):[9] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina (1998)

Circuit Court

• Karen J. Williams (1980):[10] First female appointed as a Judge of the Fourth Circuit Court in South Carolina (1992)

Deputy Attorney General

• Karen L. Henderson:[11][12] First female to serve as the Deputy Attorney General for South Carolina

United States Attorney

• Sherri Lydon:[13] First female appointed as the United States Attorney in South Carolina (2018)

Bar Association

• Elaine Fowler:[8] First female to serve as the President of the South Carolina Bar Association (1993)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Aitken County

• Courtney Clyburn-Pope:[14] First female (and African American) to serve as a resident judge (Second Judicial Circuit) in Aiken County, South Carolina (2019)

Beaufort County

• Grace White (1937):[15] First female lawyer in Beaufort, South Carolina [Beaufort County, South Carolina]

Berkeley County

• Mabel Lee Parrott Shuler:[16] First female (non-attorney) magistrate in Berkeley County, South Carolina (1984)

Charleston County

• Hannah R. Axelman (1931):[17][18] First female lawyer in Charleston County, South Carolina
• Margie Elizabeth Fuller Cannon:[19] First female magistrate in Charleston County, South Carolina (1968)

Chester County

• Barbara Usher Griffin:[20] First female magistrate judge for Chester County, South Carolina

Florence County

• Carolyn Smith Knight:[21] First female magistrate in Florence County, South Carolina

Pickens County

• Jasmine Twitty:[22][23][24] First female (and African American female) to become the youngest judge appointed in Easley, South Carolina (Pickens County, South Carolina; 2015)
• Karen Sanchez Roper:[25] First female resident judge in Pickens County, South Carolina (2016)

See also

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• Timeline of women lawyers in the United States
• Women in law

Other topics of interest

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in South Carolina

References

1. "History - School of Law | University of South Carolina". www.sc.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
2. "SCWLA - Timeline". www.scwla.org. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
3. Jr, J. Clay Smith (1999-01-01). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844–1944. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812216857.
4. "Women's Legal History | Biographical Search". Women's Legal History. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
5. "119th Session, H. 4810". South Carolina General Assembly. 2011–2012.
6. Jr, W. Lewis Burke; Assey, Joan P. (2015-12-22). Madam Chief Justice: Jean Hoefer Toal of South Carolina. Univ of South Carolina Press. ISBN 9781611176933.
7. "Women - South Carolina Encyclopedia". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
8. "SCWLA - South Carolina Women Lawyers Association". www.scwla.org. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
9. "1999-2000 Bill 3608: The Honorable Margaret B. Seymour, Resolutions - South Carolina Legislature Online". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
10. "SC native, federal judge retires after Alzheimer's diagnosis". Retrieved 2018-02-09.
11. Judiciary, United States Congress Senate Committee on the (1987). Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, First Session, on Confirmation Hearings on Appointments to the Federal Judiciary and the Department of Justice. U.S. Government Printing Office.
12. Congress, United States (1990). Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office.
13. "SC's first female US attorney Sherri Lydon is on the job". thestate. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
14. Girardeau, Tripp. "Aiken County gets first resident judge in almost 80 years". Aiken Standard. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
15. "USC Beaufort's first downtown student housing to open soon | TheDigitel". www.thedigitel.com. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
16. "Mabel Lee Parrott Shuler". Berkeley Independent. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
17. "CurranGallery". CurranGallery. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
18. "About - Charleston County Bar Association". Charleston County Bar Association. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
19. "Pioneering female magistrate dies". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
20. Home, Pollard Funeral. "Obituary for Barbara Usher Griffin". Obituary for Barbara Usher Griffin. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
21. "Judge Carolyn Smith Knight". SCNow. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
22. "How Jasmine Twitty is Making History as a 25-Year-Old Judge". 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
23. "Making History: Jasmine Twitty becomes youngest appointed judge in America | Black Star News". www.blackstarnews.com. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
24. Gershman, Jacob (2016-05-18). "Meet 26-Year-Old Judge Jasmine Twitty". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
25. "Pickens County gets first woman resident judge". The Greenville News. Retrieved 2018-12-26.